My prediction for Toshiba

I have been coming to this site since October 2007, so yea I am going to post my prediction. This is only my prediction and no I have no source to back this up. I think that you will see Toshiba announce that they will produce a dual format player for this summer. With recent news of WB making some HD DVD's in isolated cases, I think you will see a combining of forces. Now you may ask, what happens if retailers totally abandon the HD DVD movies then what? Well I feel that Toshiba will do all of us HD DVD supporters a solid and make the dual player so we can still play what we got and what we can still get.

[Post edited by InvisibleBiker on Feb 15, 2008]

Here's a novel idea. Toshiba makes a dual player. Then, you know how they come out with a movie on DVD and then also (or a week later) they have it on "Special Addition" with all of this bous stuff? What if they released movies on HD with maybe just the movie itself and also put it out as "Special Addition" on Blu ray. Since the BD have more capacity on them, the BD can have the movie and all of the special feature stuff and then no one would really lose out.

[Post edited by Jedi_Soljah on Feb 15, 2008]

I'll remind everyone what others have said... Toshiba makes great HD-DVD players. Just think if they start making GREAT DUAL-FORMAT players (or even Blu-ray only, yeah, I know) - they could 'steal' the market share of player sales away from other BRDA members!

If I were Sony, Sharp, Philips, Panasonic, Pioneer, etc, I'd be worried if and when Toshiba adopts Blu-ray (or dual-format), as with their quality , who will want to buy the competition? Except for the PS3 (which is a popular machine for Blu-ray regardless).

-LH (The Loverboy)

"Except for the PS3 (which is a popular machine for Blu-ray regardless." --Love Hendrix!

The question would be price and functionality. LG and Samsung ran into problems selling their dual-format players because they cost too much (you could buy a pair of separate stand-alones more cheaply) and they would not perform properly.

If Toshiba could produce a du-fo player that was cheap, say as cheap as the cheapest BD players or the PS3, and it could do everything it was supposed to do, they would have winning product.

Think about it: Sony has spent many millions, possibly billions, of dollars in the last two years promoting Blu-ray, and they will probably continue to bleed red ink for the next few years on every BD disc sold. Meanwhile, along comes Toshiba to capitalize on the market penetration Sony has made with Blu-ray. I mean, if the Tosh du-fo player were cheap enough, what potential BD or HD DVD buyer wouldn't opt for it? It provides the best of all worlds.

John

Thanks for pointing that out in better words than me John!

It really makes my mind spin with thoughts of Toshiba 'overtaking' Blu-ray market share for future stand-alone player sales (possibly), and getting back at Sony in their own way! While I'm going to buy an A35 soon (to be my main HD-DVD/Upconverted DVD player), I'm definitely interested in a future Toshiba du-for (or Blu-ray only) player one day.

Remember what Tim said, about the reliability of long-term PS3 use? Well, my only Blu-ray player is a PS3, so I have to consider another Blu-ray player later - PERHAPS A TOSHIBA...?

-LH (The Loverboy)

It is all nice to say that Toshiba produces a cheap dual player. Toshiba has been bleeding red ever since they have been marking their players down. Their income statements will show the affect of discounts they offered last quarter. I think we see a shift in Toshiba's strategy going forward - they are going to price their players at par with the competition. The price reduction is one of the main reasons why retailers are not keen on selling HD-DVD players - low price, negligible profit. Toshiba has no reason to produce cheap dual players, if they have learnt anything from this format war.

[Post edited by rpruthee on Feb 15, 2008]

John... I noticed that 'technically' Toshiba is not a current member of the BRDA - VIEW INFO. Now, do you (or anyone) know if this means it will be difficult for them to get access to Blu-ray patent/hardware info, to produce their own line of dual-format or Blu-ray exclusive players?

-LH (The Loverboy)

I guess this would be the ultimate irony for all of us here on both sides, seeing Toshiba beat Sony and others in the Blu-ray game. And it wouldn't take much for them to slide into Blu - just replace the laser/pickup assembly and chip. Their GPU and decoders don't care what the source is, they don't have to replace anything else. Heck, they can even include the exact same remotes!

Sure they might be subsidizing their HD DVD players now, but I bet they learned a lot with assembly and economies due to scale and could undercut current CE manufacturers while making a profit for once. Imagine a 2.0 profile player (they have practice at this already!) with a Reon video processor, internal DTS HD MA decoding, and analog audio outs for less than $400. I'd have my order in today!

Great post Skyhawk !

For once I agree with the Skyturkey. I'd order that player today if it existed.

"...difficult for them to get access to Blu-ray patent/hardware info, to produce their own line of dual-format or Blu-ray exclusive players." --Love Hendrix!

Love,

I read over at AVS that Sony charges a $30 royalty fee per player for companies using their BD technology (as Toshiba charges a royalty for HD DVD technology). I don't think Sony could deny Toshiba a license. But it seems to me that the royalty fee per player might be about as much as it would cost Toshiba for the components, many of which they make already, anyway.

Remember, too, that these are both Japanese companies, and saving face may be a part of the equation. Sony comes out ahead in the format battle, and Toshiba makes their profit. Both companies "win." Both companies remain happy. Customers are happy. The world is safe again for democracy, and the message boards go back to discussing movies.

John

[Post edited by John J. Puccio on Feb 15, 2008]

Sony and Blu-Ray makes me want to puke.........

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the message boards go back to discussing movies.

John again you go spreading FUD. This site has never discussed "movies" or reviewed "movies" my god John you're such a movie fanboy.

Micro$oft drops bid for Yahoo and acquires Toshiba AND $ony for $50Billion US.

Then discontinues Blu Ray entirely, leaving all the Blu Balls out there choking on their own vomit..

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Sony and Blu-Ray makes me want to puke.........

I agree

Why would they make a machine that plays a format that will no longer be available in the future? Is that economically feasible? I mean, they are not just going to make it for their thousands of "loyal HDDVD fans" who already own a ton of HDDVD's, they would be nuts to do that, especially when those people ALREADY own HDDVD machines....I just don't see that being a good move for them, do you guys?

It would be like Pioneer including Laserdisc players in the newer DVD machines, after LD was sunk all those years ago. Again, just my opinion, I have BOTH formats, and would like to see them both co exist.

[Post edited by Blu_Bawla on Feb 16, 2008]

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Remember, too, that these are both Japanese companies, and saving face may be a part of the equation. Sony comes out ahead in the format battle, and Toshiba makes their profit. Both companies "win." Both companies remain happy. Customers are happy. The world is safe again for democracy, and the message boards go back to discussing movies.

JJ Your the man for this comment. are you single?

I have always been told toshiba is one of the best companys out there for eletronics. Ive had 2 standard toshiba dvd players(8 years) and a hd dvd player all have been great products never one one problem. Ive always had good experences with there products. If they come out with a blu ray player, it will probably be one the top players out there.

Blu_Bawla,
their talking about Toshiba making duel players because if they still make HD DVD players then they would still make HD DVDs. Maybe not as many but they would still be made so we could get new HD movies. They wouldn't lose money because they also have the majority of movies on BD.

I hear you and I would be down with that, although I think it would only appeal to a niche market, but that would be awesome if they did!

Blu_Bawia... In fact, Pioneer DID produce 'combo' DVD/LaserDisc players for a few years after DVD was introduced in the late 1990s.

Here are some pics - HERE - (and) - HERE

-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)
-my new nickname-

Boys and girls, I just hope if my prediction comes to pass, that Toshiba makes their decission soon. I can tell you this, they will either drop off the map altogether or they will go dual player. They have to, for all of the people that bought into HD DVD. And like you guys said, and I never thought of it when I posted the thread, they want and will beat SONY up if they do go dual.
Thanks guys for being civil. and posting some excellent comments on the thread.

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Blu_Bawia... In fact, Pioneer DID produce 'combo' DVD/LaserDisc players for a few years after DVD was introduced in the late 1990s.

Cool man, do you know if those sold well at all, or what happened with them as far as sales? I would think not a lot of people would have bought them, but cool as hell nonetheless. I would probably interested if they did the same w/HDDVD.

EDIT: I still have Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things on LD and I would love to watch it sometimes, I love the packaging and all it came with, awesome presentation, I'd never get rid of that as it is one of my favorites.

[Post edited by Blu_Bawla on Feb 16, 2008]

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Thanks guys for being civil. and posting some excellent comments on the thread.

That is what it's all about, I mean the bottom line is we all enjoy films and want to see them in the best possible presentation of video/audio, who cares what format as long as it is the best available. Then you get some jerks who come in and try to rub it in this camps face, etc, thats what sucks about here sometimes.

Bottom line: I love this hobby, and I love film, that is why I am here, and passionate about it.

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Cool man, do you know if those sold well at all, or what happened with them as far as sales? I would think not a lot of people would have bought them, but cool as hell nonetheless. I would probably interested if they did the same w/HDDVD.

Those LD/DVD combo players are actually some of the better Laserdisc players produced, except for their DVD portion. Those were somewhat unremarkable. The DVL-919 and DVL-H9 were probably the best among all the combo players as they both supported DTS output.

Blu_Bawia... yes, Pioneer's combo player had decent sales, enough that the company did more than one manufacturing 'run', as many were left unsold (as DVD grew), and still available (new) for sale up until a few years ago. But, I don't believe the DVD output offered progressive scan (480p), and was limited to 480i [note: LaserDisc has always been 425i].

And some speculated that the wear/tear factor would be more noticeable, since your internal parts would be switching back and forth between DVD and LD use/playback.

Note: I currently have 3 working LD players (2 with DD 5.1 output, and all have DTS). All are Pioneer (but I never did buy a 'combo' DVD/LD unit).

-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)